Is “toxic mold syndrome” a real thing? What do we do about food poisoning?
It has become moldy in recent years is accused for any “vague and subjective” symptoms, but we have little scientific evidence that the mold should affect it. However, this “toxic mold syndrome concept” has permeated the public consciousness, perpetuated by the unscrupulous predatory practices of those who earn money by searching homes for mold spores or testing people’s urine or blood. But all of these tests, it says, “spread more misinformation and cause unnecessary and often exorbitant costs to unwarranted patients for clinical diagnoses, right or wrong, for a group of diseases… Continued belief in this myth is driven by charlatans who believe measles vaccines, household water, influenza and influenza cause illness. . . .”
However, there is food mold toxin contamination appeared as a legal issue of serious concern and mycotoxin are perhaps even more important than other contaminants that can enter the food supply. There were hundreds of different species was determinedbut there was only one person classified as a known human carcinogen and this is aflatoxin. Ochratoxin I had before was discussed is a it is possible human carcinogen, but we know Aflatoxin causes cancer in humans. In fact, aphtoxins are is among the most potent known carcinogens.
It has been is assumed approximately one-fifth of all liver cancer cases can be attributed to aflatoxins. “Since liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide and mortality occurs rapidly after diagnosis, the contribution of aflatoxins to this deadly cancer is significant.” And once aflatoxin makes it gets into the food, there is almost nothing we can do to remove it. For example, cooking does not help. Indeed, as shown below and at 1:50 in my video Should we be worried about aflatoxin?one time makes it is too late for crops or for meat, milk and eggs from animals that consume these crops. So we have to stop the pollution in the first place, which is what we’ve been doing in the United States for decades. Because of government regulations, “companies in developed countries … are always”. sampling“for aflatoxin” as a result costing about $1 billion annually. It can get even worse if climate change exacerbates aflatoxin contamination in the Midwest Corn Belt.
So at the consumer level, it is is more of a public health problem in the less industrialized world, such as in African countries where conditions are ripe and farmers cannot dispose of $1 billion worth of contaminated crops. Aflatoxin remains a public health threat in Africa, Southeast Asia, and rural China; effective more than half of humanity. This explains why the prevalence of liver cancer can be 30 times higher in these areas, but it is not a major problem in the United States or Europe.
Only about 1% of Americans have detectable levels of aflatoxins in their bloodstream. Why not 0%? The US Food and Drug Administration works to ensure that exposure levels to these toxins are kept as low as possible, not too low. it is possible. For example, there is in California became increasing “unacceptable levels of aflatoxins” in pistachios, almonds and figs. Unacceptable in Europe, meaning it affects our ability to export, but not necessarily acceptable for US consumers because we allow twice as much aflatoxin contamination.
fig are unique because they are “allowed to fully ripen and semi-dry on the tree”. This makes they are “particularly susceptible to aflatoxin production”. It would be interesting to know about the fig consumption habits of the 1% of Americans who tested positive for the toxin. If figs were the culprit, I would encourage people to diversify their dried fruit intake, but nuts. are so good for us that we actually want to keep them in our diet. The cardiovascular health benefits we get from walnuts outweigh their carcinogenic effects; Nut consumption prevents thousands of strokes and heart attacks for every case of liver cancer. “Thus, the public health benefits provided by increased nut consumption outweigh the risks associated with increased aflatoxin B1.”
So we are left with aflatoxin to be is primarily a problem in the developing world, and as such it “remains a widely and shamefully neglected global health issue…”. Where attention has been given, it has been driven largely by the need to enforce strict import regulations on mycotoxin contamination in the wealthier countries of the world, rather than to protect the billions of people who are exposed to them every day.
Dr.’s comment
This is the last video in a four part series on mold toxins. If you missed the others, check out the related posts below.
